The Palaces of Carrara (Second Edition)
The Palaces of Carrara (Second Edition) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 42 Building Blocks (7x each white, yellow, red, green, blue, and purple)
- 6 Monument Tiles (Value 8 Buildings)
- 1 Game Board & Wheel Base
- 8 Improvement Tiles
- 2 Double-Sided Wheels
- 4 Double-Sided Player Boards
- 36 Building Tiles (6 different building types with the values 1-5, with two sets of 3; 4 of those types have an orange urban background and 2 have a green rural background)
- 68 Florin Coins
- 1 Building Block Bag
- 1 Double-Sided Royal Court Board
- 32 Scoring Markers (8 in each player color)
- 1 Royal Visit Marker
- 8 Victory Point (VP) Markers (2 in each player color)
- 42 Decorations (7x each Book, Coat of Arms, Crown, Cup, Flag, Gate)
- 4 Screens
Advanced Version components:
- 44 Statues (6x each white, yellow, red, green, blue, purple, and 8x gold)
Note: Coins are not considered limited, and a suitable substitution may be found if you run out. All other components are limited.
Assembly of the Game Board and Wheels: See the diagrams on the rulebook for how to assemble the board and wheels.
Assembly of the Screens: See the diagrams on the rulebook for how to assemble the screens.
Credits
GAME DESIGN: Wolfgang Kramer, Michael Kiesling • ARTWORK: Franz Vohwinkel
PROJECT MANAGER: Rudy Seuntjens • GAME DEVELOPMENT: Seb Van Deun
ART DIRECTION & RULEBOOK DESIGN: Rafaël Theunis • EDITOR: Amanda Erven
PROOFREADERS: Ori Avtalion, Dave Moser, Christine Gijbels • QUALITY CONTROL: Eefje Gielis
LOGISTICS: Wim Goossens
Wolfgang Kramer wishes to thank his wife Ursula Kramer and Seb (Game Brewer), who wrestled with him in many tests to find the best solution for the rules down to the last details. Michael Kiesling would like to extend a special thank you to his wife Ina for her endless support.
If there is any issue with this product, please contact the vendor where you purchased this game, or contact our customer service at gamebrewer.com/customer-service
Overview
The Palaces of Carrara is a set collection game in which you compete to buy colored blocks used to construct the most beautiful marble buildings in the various cities throughout the region. Once you've begun building, you'll need to tactically choose when to score certain characteristics or locations. Scoring will bring in the money needed to buy more blocks and/or the victory points needed to win the game. It is a bit of a race to the end, so you'll need to keep pace with your opponents. There are 2 versions to play: regular and advanced. If you are new to this edition of Carrara, start with the regular version rules and switch to advanced rules when desired.
Regular Version
Game Setup
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Place the game board in the center of the table. Place the small wheel on the large one, both blank side up. Align the segments with the outer locations.
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Determine the starting player. If you can't decide, the last player to have seen a marble statue or seen a picture of one is the starting player. They take 2 purple building blocks. The second player (clockwise from the 1st) takes 1 purple and 1 blue block, the third takes 2 blue blocks, and the fourth takes 1 blue and 1 green block. These are your initial blocks.
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Place 6 building blocks, 1 of each color, in the segment at the location with a cost for all the colors. The remaining blocks go into the building block bag.
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Prepare the building tiles (values 1-5):
- In a 2-player game, use 24 buildings (remove both sets of the value 3 buildings, 2 of each type for a total of 12 tiles).
- In a 3-player game, use 30 buildings (remove 1 set of the value 3 buildings, 1 of each type for a total of 6 tiles).
- In a 4-player game, use all 36 buildings.
Shuffle all the buildings for your player count. Reveal 9 buildings and place them onto the empty building locations on the game board. Place the remaining buildings in a facedown pile (or piles) next to the game board.
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Place the 6 monuments (value 8 buildings) and the 8 improvements faceup next to the game board, so all tiles are visible.
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Place the Royal Court board bonus side up, next to the game board.
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Place the Royal Visit marker on its spot of the Royal Court.
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Place the Florin coins next to the game board as the supply.
Player Setup
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Place a player board in front of yourself regular side up. Leave room to construct buildings in columns above the cities on your player board.
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Place the screen of your chosen color in front of you, behind or beside your player board. Position it so you can keep your coins and building blocks hidden from other players.
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Place 20 Florin coins and your starting blocks behind your screen.
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Place a scoring marker of your color in each of the 6 bonus spaces of the Royal Court.
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Place 1 VP marker of your color on the 0 space on the VP track and the other one on the 0 space of the VP lap track.
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Return the remaining 2 scoring markers of your color to the box, as well as all the decorations and statues, and any materials for player colors not in use.
Game Play
The starting player will take the first turn, and then all players will continue to take turns in clockwise order, until the end of the game. On your turn you must choose one of the following actions:
- Buy Building Blocks
- Construct a Building or Monument
- Score
- Pass and Take 2 Coins
1. Buy Building Blocks
The wheel determines which blocks are available to purchase. The wheel has 6 segments which hold blocks. The wheel will rotate clockwise, positioning the segments above stationary locations that show the costs to purchase blocks when they are at that location. The first location has a cost for all the blocks, and when the blocks are added to the wheel they go in the segment at this location. If a block is not pictured, that means it is free when at that location.
On your turn, before buying blocks, you may choose to rotate the wheel one segment clockwise; if you do so, you must also add new blocks (if possible). Do this by adding building blocks from the bag to the segment at the first location until there is a total of 11 building blocks on the wheel. Then buy blocks.
If you choose not to rotate the wheel, do not add new blocks; proceed to buying blocks.
To buy blocks, choose 1 segment of the wheel and buy as many blocks from that 1 segment as you want or can. Each block you purchase costs the amount depicted on the illustrated blocks (color by color) for that location (if not pictured it is free). Return the coins to the supply and place the purchased blocks behind your screen.
Example: Charley rotates wheel 1 space clockwise. There are 9 blocks on the wheel, so he draws 2 from the bag and adds them to segment I. He buys only the green and the blue block from segment III. He pays 1 coin to the supply as the green block costs 1 and the blue is free. He puts both blocks behind his screen.
Special Situations
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If blocks at the last location (the one with only a cost for 1 white block) are rotated back to the first location, they remain on the wheel and are once again more expensive.
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If after rotating the wheel and adding more blocks, you find you cannot afford anything, you must pull up your screen to reveal your insufficient funds. Then you may take 2 coins from the bank and end your turn. Otherwise you must buy at least 1 block.
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If the block bag is empty when you go to refill the wheel up to 11 blocks, draw and place as many as you can and then buy blocks as normal. You may still rotate the wheel before buying blocks even if the bag is completely empty and you cannot draw and place any blocks.
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If the wheel and the block bag are both empty you may not choose Buy Building Blocks as your action.
2. Construct a Building or Monument
The buildings will be built in your play area for the cost of blocks and may later score either VP or coins.
Each building shows the kind of landscape (orange=urban/green=rural), the building type (text), the decoration associated with that type of building, and the value (cost in blocks).
You may perform one of the following actions when constructing:
A. Construct a building, OR B. Construct a monument and claim an improvement tile.
A. Construct a building
Choose 1 of the available buildings on the game board. You may construct any 1 building in any city if you have the correct number and distribution of blocks. On your player board below each city are the colors of blocks allowed to be used when constructing there. Each building's value shows the number of blocks you need to pay, in any combination, of those colors.
Return the used blocks to the bag, and place the building above the appropriate city on your player board. Each subsequent building in the same city will be placed higher than any previously constructed buildings in that city, forming a column of buildings above a city. Refill the empty building spot on the game board with a new building from the pile next to the game board, if available.
When paying, you may exchange 2 blocks of 1 color as a substitute for the next highest color. The hierarchy of color is the same as the order of the cities on your player board going right to left. For instance, 2 green blocks may be paid as a substitute for 1 red block. You may make as many exchanges as you need, but you may not chain these substitutions, meaning you may not, in this instance, pay 2 green to substitute for 1 red to pair with 1 red block to then substitute for 1 yellow, etc. If you need to exchange for 1 yellow, you would have to start with 2 red blocks behind your screen.
Example: Laura decides to buy the biblioteca costing 4 blocks. She wishes to build it in Lucca. The blocks must be white, yellow, or red, in any combination totaling 4. She returns 1 white, 1 yellow, 1 red, and 2 green (as a substitute for 1 red) to the bag, and she places the biblioteca above Lucca on her player board before turning a new building faceup from the pile and adding it to the empty space on the game board.
Example: Robin wants to buy the porta monument to build in Viareggio. She already has a value 5 porta building in that city, so she just needs to pay 3 blocks. She can pay 1 red and 2 green to meet the color requirements of Viareggio. Robin places the porta monument on top of the value 5 porta building, removing it from play. She chooses to take the Pisa improvement tile, placing it on the existing scoring space on her player board. Now if it scores it will yield 4 coins instead of 3.
B. Construct a monument and claim an improvement tile
Each building type has a monument building faceup next to the board, with the value of 8. These are constructed much in the same way as the buildings, but you may also upgrade an existing building of the same type, replacing it with the monument.
To upgrade, follow all normal city block requirements, but pay the difference in blocks between the tile you are replacing and the monument's cost (8). Once paid, you place the monument on top of the building you are replacing. The old tile is now hidden and out of the game.
Gaining VP when Building
If you have used up all your scoring markers and you choose to construct a building or monument, you immediately receive VP equal to the value of the building with no other modifiers. If you upgrade to a monument, you receive VP equal to the cost paid, so if you upgrade a value 5 building to a monument (value 8) you'll receive 3 VP.
When you construct (or upgrade to) a monument, you also get your choice of improvement tile for free. Improvement tiles increase the scoring yields on cities. Choose any improvement tile and add it to the appropriate matching space of your player board (see 3. Score).
3. Score
Scoring gives you VP and/or coins, usually for your buildings of a specific type, or in a specific location. You have 6 scoring markers, so you may score a maximum of 6 times during the game. There are 14 scoring locations. Each city on the main game board is available to all players but may only be scored 1 time and by 1 player. The locations on your player board are available only to you and each may only be scored 1 time.
Royal Visit Marker
The Royal Visit marker is used to indicate to other players that you have chosen to score and taken a bonus. You will hold on to it until your next turn, indicating to your fellow players that they have a choice to follow the lead (or not) on their turn.
To score, take the Royal Visit marker from the supply and hold on to it until your next turn. Then select an empty scoring location, choose a scoring marker from a bonus section of the Royal Court to put on that space, and take the bonus. This is either 5 coins taken from the supply, or 3 VP gained on the VP track.
Determine the value of what you are scoring. The building's value is multiplied by the corresponding reward shown on your player board. Specific scoring location details (A/B/C) will follow.
The building's value is multiplied by the corresponding reward shown on your player board. You will receive either money, VP, or a combination of both as your reward. Coins are taken from the supply. Keep track of your VP with your player marker on the VP track. If you reach the end of the track, move your second VP marker on the VP lap track to the next position (+100 or +200) so your current score is always the sum of the amounts indicated by your two VP markers.
Whenever another player is holding the Royal Visit marker, these special rules apply: if you also choose to score, you must take your scoring marker from the same bonus section of the Royal Court (the section will be the one with fewer scoring markers; and by the initial player's next turn, it will be empty). You gain the same bonus, and then you may score any available scoring option as normal.
If you choose not to score when someone is holding the Royal Visit marker, you must first move your scoring marker from that same bonus section of the Royal Court to the large open area of the Royal Court that has no bonus. You then take your turn as normal.
If you are in possession of the Royal Visit marker at the start of your next turn, return it to the supply. You may immediately choose to score again, claiming it once more.
Note: Once all 6 sections of the Royal Court featuring a bonus are empty, all future scoring will be initiated from the large open area of the Royal Court. You simply take your marker from this section and activate a scoring. Do not take the Royal Visit marker as there are no longer any bonuses to be gained by other players who also score before your next turn.
Scoring locations:
A. The 6 city locations on the main game board B. The 6 building types on the player boards C. The urban and rural landscapes on the player boards
A. The 6 city locations on the main game board
To score a city you must have constructed at least 2 or 3 buildings above that city on your player board (3 in Lerici, Massa, and Viareggio & 2 in Lucca, Pisa, and Livorno).
Place 1 of your scoring markers on the empty city space on the main board that you wish to score. Add up the value of all the buildings in that city's column above your own player board. Now multiply that total by the reward value of that city as shown on your player board. Take the corresponding total as the reward.
Example: Chad wants to score Massa. He has built 3 buildings in Massa, and no one has scored that city yet. He moves his scoring marker from the 5-coin bonus section of the Royal Court, onto Massa on the main game board, and adds up the value of his buildings in the Massa city column on his player board, giving a total of 8. He multiplies that by Massa's reward and gains 8 VP and advances his scoring marker on the VP track 8 spaces. He also takes 5 coins from the supply. Two other players follow the scoring lead (one scores landscapes and the other a type of building) and they each get 5 coins.
B. The 6 building types on the player boards
To score a building type you must have constructed at least 1 building of the type you wish to score. It does not matter which cities the tiles are in, all buildings of that type above your player board will score.
Place 1 of your scoring markers on an empty building type scoring space on the bottom of your player board. The value of each building of this type is multiplied by the reward of the city that building is in; this might be more than 1 city and therefore have different rewards. Take the reward for each building of that type.
Example: Charley, following Chad's scoring lead, decides to score his palazzo buildings. He takes his scoring marker from the same section, taking the bonus 5 coins from the supply and places his scoring marker on the palazzo space at the bottom of his player board. He has a value 1 palazzo in Pisa for which he receives 3 coins (1x3). In Lucca he has a value 5 palazzo for which he receives 10 VP (5x2). In Massa he has a value 4 palazzo for which he receives 4 VP (4x1).
C. The urban and rural landscapes on the player boards
To score a landscape type you must have constructed at least 1 building of the corresponding type, urban (orange) or rural (green). It does not matter which cities the buildings are in, all buildings of that landscape type above your player board will score.
Place 1 of your scoring markers on the empty landscape scoring space of your choice, either urban or rural. Landscape scoring is the only time you do not reference any of the rewards under the city columns. Add up the value of each matching landscape building tile you are scoring and multiply the total by the reward shown on the landscape scoring space, which is coin (urban) or VP (rural). Take the corresponding total as your reward. You do not score the rewards shown under the city.
Example: Laura places her scoring marker on the urban landscape scoring space and adds up the value of all her orange urban building tiles (1+4+5+1) for a total of 11. She receives 11 coins from the supply.
4. Pass and Take 2 Coins
You may choose to pass and take 2 coins from the supply, putting them behind your screen.
Game End
The game end is triggered when both of the following conditions are met:
- At least one player has used up all their scoring markers, and
- the building draw pile is empty.
In other words, you trigger the game end either by refilling the building display with the last building from the draw pile when someone, an opponent or you, is already out of scoring markers, or by placing your last scoring marker when the building draw pile is already empty.
Whoever triggers the game end receives 5 VP and is now done for the game. All other players get 1 more turn to finish the game.
Final Scoring
All players calculate their final VP. Score 1 VP for every 5 coins rounded down.
The player with the most points wins! In case of a tie the player with the most building blocks leftover wins! If it is still tied, players share the victory.
Advanced Version
Game Setup
Set up as you would in the regular version, but also use the following components:
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Place both wheels icon side faceup. The big wheel may be rotated at random. The small wheel begins with the purple statue aligned with the first location (the one without a marble background).
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Sort the decorations by type. Use 5 of each of the 6 types for 2 players (30), 6 of each for 3 players (36), and 7 of each for 4 players (42). Place them into a supply next to the game board.
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Place the Royal Court board faceup. Place 2 gold statues per player near the statue bonus sections of the Royal Court (1 on each side). If playing with fewer than 4 players, return the remaining gold statues to the box. Place the remaining 36 statues (6 in each of the 6 block colors) next to the game board.
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Each player has 2 extra scoring markers for a total of 8. Place 1 on each of the 8 bonus sections of the Royal Court.
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Place your player board on the advanced side. This side has 2 warehouses and 3 statue scoring locations.
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Return any materials for player colors not in use to the box.
Gameplay
The game plays like the regular version, with the following additions:
1. Buy Building Blocks
You buy blocks as in the regular version, but when you do, one or both wheels must rotate. You may do either of the following:
A. You may rotate both wheels together 1 segment clockwise and add blocks as normal. Or
B. You may choose to only rotate the inner statue wheel 1 segment clockwise, but do not add new blocks.
When you buy all the remaining blocks in a segment you may choose to take either the depicted decoration or the depicted statue from the supply. You may not take a statue/decoration from a segment that is already empty; there must be a block present to take this action.
Example: Chad buys all the blocks (2 red, 1 yellow, and 1 blue) from the segment with the flag. The segment is now empty, so he takes a flag from the general supply. He adds it to his castello in Pisa. Each building can only have one decoration and it must match the type of building. He could have bought the last white block from the segment with the cup, but he does not have a matching building type and the cup would have had to go onto a warehouse.
Example 2: Charley buys all the blocks in the segment that currently has the red statue and the cup. He chooses to take the red statue. He has two buildings without statues in cities that might use red blocks, and so he chooses to place the statue in Massa.
Decorations and Statues
Decorations add 1 to a building's value during scoring. Statues make the building eligible for statue scoring. At the end of the game, players score points for sets of decorations, and for having majorities of statues per city.
A decoration may immediately go onto a matching, unoccupied decoration spot on a previously built building. There may be a statue present.
A statue may immediately go onto one of your previously built buildings in a city that uses the same color blocks for construction. It may not go onto a building that already has a statue, but there may be a decoration present.
If you do not have a building of the correct type, or in the correct city's column, or choose not to place it, the decoration or statue must go onto a warehouse at the bottom of your player board. Each warehouse can hold 1 statue or 1 decoration. At any point on one of your future turns, you may transfer a decoration or statue from a warehouse to a building of the correct type for a decoration and/or the correct city for a statue.
Whenever you would receive a new decoration/statue but you do not have an available building or warehouse, you may choose to discard a previously acquired decoration/statue from a warehouse to make room, or you may simply choose not to take the new decoration/statue.
2. Construct a Building
When taking the second option B. Construct a monument and claim an improvement tile, if there is a decoration and/or statue on the building you are upgrading to a monument, the decoration and/or statue is not lost, but is placed on top of the monument.
3. Score
The Royal Court board is on the advanced side, which means the bonuses you can earn if you instigate or follow a scoring action are now statues (x2), decorations (x2), 5 coins (x2), 3VP (x2).
The bonuses are different from the regular version, but earned in the same manner.
The decoration bonus allows you to take a decoration of your choice from the supply. The statue bonus allows you to take one of the gold statues stored in the Royal Court. Gold statues are gilded marble and can go in any available building. If you cannot or choose not to take the gold statue it does not go into the supply but is instead returned to the box. Coins are taken from the supply. VP are gained on the VP Track.
There are 19 scoring locations in the advanced version (14 from the regular version plus 5 new ones).
Regular scoring location changes:
A. The 6 cities on the main game board B. The 6 building types on the player boards C. The urban and rural landscapes on the player boards
In all 3 instances, each decoration adds 1 to the value of the building.
Advanced scoring locations:
D. The 2 money scoring spaces E. The 3 statue scoring locations on the player boards
D. The 2 money scoring spaces
To score, choose an unclaimed space and place your scoring marker on it, claiming it for the end of the game. You must have and reveal to all other players the minimum number of coins shown on that space, but you do not spend any of them at this time. Unlike all other scoring options, these scoring spaces do not activate until the end of the game. At the end of the game, you exchange your coins for VP per the ratio on the space you claimed instead of the normal 5:1 ratio. On the leftmost space (min. 36 coins) your leftover coins can be exchanged at a ratio of 2:1 for VP rounded down (ex. 25 coins will give you 12 VP). On the rightmost space (min. 50 coins) the exchange rate will be 2:1. You may only claim 1 money scoring space during the game.
Example: Robin has 40 coins, so she can claim the 3:1 scoring space with one of her scoring markers. At the end of the game, she has 31 coins remaining for a total of 10 VP.
Bonus Action: Purchase a Decoration or Statue
On your turn you may buy 1 decoration or 1 statue from the supply for 10 coins. This is not considered an action.
A purchased decoration must immediately go onto a building of the correct type following normal decoration placement rules. It may not go onto a warehouse.
A purchased statue must immediately go onto a building without a statue, in the city that matches the statue's color. A white statue may only go in Livorno, a yellow one may only go in Pisa, etc. This is different from the normal statue placement rules. It may not go onto a warehouse.
E. The 3 statue scoring locations on the player boards
You also have 3 spaces on your player board where you can score the buildings containing statues. The 3 spaces are pairs of cities: Livorno & Lerici (white & purple), Massa & Pisa (blue & yellow), or Viareggio & Lucca (green & red). To score buildings with statues, place your scoring marker on an empty one of the 3 double-city spaces; now you will gain a reward from each building that has a statue in either of those cities. To calculate the score, add the building value with the decoration, if any, and then multiply by that city's reward. Repeat for each building with a statue in your 2 chosen city columns.
Note: Statues do not add value to a building for any in-game scoring.
Example: Laura wants to score all her buildings with statues in Massa & Pisa, so she places a scoring marker on this space. In Pisa she has 3 buildings, one of which has a statue on it. She adds the value of the building (1), plus the decoration (1) for a total of 2. The city has an improvement tile on it, so she multiplies her total by the reward of the city (x4 coins) for a total of 8 coins. In Massa she has 3 buildings, each with a statue, plus 2 decorations, she adds up the value of all 3 buildings (5+1+1+4+1), for a total of 12. This is multiplied by the reward of the city Massa (x1 VP), so she takes 12 VP by advancing her VP marker 12 spaces.
Game End
The game end conditions are the same as in the regular version.
Final Scoring
Any player that claimed a money scoring space may now exchange their leftover coins for VP based on the space's exchange rate. All other players may still exchange coins at the original rate of 5 coins to 1 VP.
In addition, for all the decorations you have placed on your constructed buildings you score VP for each set (1 or more) of the same decoration. The chart below shows how many VP you gain per size of set.
Example: On her constructed buildings across all her cities Laura has 1 flag (2VP), 1 coat of arms (2VP), 2 gates (6 VP), 4 crowns (20 VP) for a total of 30 VP.
Players then score points based on who has the most statues in each city. Statue color is ignored during scoring. VPs are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and VP varies by city. The statue score board breaks down VP by rank in each city. If there are ties, all players involved receive the points of the next, lower, scoring level, and those who would have received that lower rank, if no tie had occurred, also drop to the next scoring level, possibly not scoring anything at all. You must have a statue in that city to qualify.
Example: Charley has 3 statues in the purple city, Lerici. This is more than anyone else, so he scores 7 VP. Chad, the only other player with statues in Lerici, has 2 and so scores 3 VP. Laura and Robin both have 4 statues in the blue city, Massa. They each score 4 VP. Laura has 3 statues in Viareggio, Charley and Robin both have 2 statues in Viareggio, and Chad has 1. Laura scores 9 VP, Charley and Robin each score 2 VP, and Chad scores 0 VP. Charley is the only player with any statues in Livorno, so he scores 12 VP.
The player with the most points wins! In case of a tie the player with the most building blocks leftover wins! If it is still tied, players share the victory.
Easily Forgotten Rules
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Two blocks of one color may be substituted for the next highest color, and this hierarchy is shown in the cities on your player board going right to left: Purple, Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, White.
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A building's value is the construction cost, shown in the top right of each tile, plus 1 for any decoration added to the tile.
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You can only construct buildings in a city with blocks that are desired in that city. You are limited to the following blocks in these cities:
- Lerici: purple, blue, green, red, yellow, and white
- Massa: blue, green, red, yellow, and white
- Viareggio: green, red, yellow, and white
- Lucca: red, yellow, and white
- Pisa: yellow and white
- Livorno: white
Statues must also be placed in cities where blocks of that color match the statue. Statues which are purchased for 10 coins can only be placed in the city of the exact same color. White in Livorno, yellow in Pisa, etc.
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Once you upgrade a building to a monument, the old building tile underneath is out of play for the rest of the game.